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'TUSSOCKS DANCING' CD ABOUT TO BE LAUNCHED
An innovative CD of hymns and spiritual songs by the Christchurch
poet and composer, Dr Jane Simpson, is to be launched at S.
Michael's Church, Christchurch, on 5 October.
Jane wrote the texts and music together. Professor Colin Gibson
describes the resulting collection in his introduction to the
CD booklet as "a marriage of art and religion".
"Her Christ is a Canterbury flood, breaking stopbanks,
scouring and making new; a wind bracing creation. Her God is
not fixed but changing, absorbing, surprising; surrounding with
love all in labour, a co-creator indeed," Colin says.
All 23 tracks are sung by Poiema Voices, formed by Jane last
year. After
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the launch, Poiema Voices will have
a further six concerts throughout Christchurch before Christmas.
The title track Tussocks Dancing has been very warmly received
by classically trained musicians and by congregations in many
places. "Praise Be" screened it on their Christchurch-
featured programme in June. Samples of Poiema Voices' singing
and the downloadable sheet music for Tussocks Dancing can
both be found on <www.godzonehymns.com>, the website Jane
and her husband, Dr Bill Ahlers, set up in April 2001.
The couple, who started their hymns partnership
after career changes in mid-life, have been encouraged to sell
the CD and license the sheet music to parishes and congregations,
schools and choirs beyond New Zealand, in particular in Australia,
the USA, Canada and the UK. |
"One ex-patriate Kiwi minister
and composer in California said my children's hymn, Spread
your feathers belongs in every hymnal, because there are so
few hymns about the nurturing aspects of the divine," Jane
says.
When the CD is released and available for sale through the internet
and by mail order, Jane sees the potential for a "reverse
colonisation" from New Zealand back to the old centres from
which our church-music traditions sprang. |
